1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to aquarium cleaning and filtration apparatus, and more specifically to an aquarium protein skimmer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aquarium hobbyists recognize and appreciate the need to maintain high quality water conditions in aquariums that are home to fish and underwater creatures, including tropical fish, marine fish, and marine reef creatures, such as corals, sponges, and more. Numerous techniques are employed for cleaning, treating, and filtering aquarium water to insure a healthy and vibrant environment for the aquarium inhabitants. For each technique there are numerous different kinds of equipment and apparatus to be employed.
One technique for cleaning aquarium water is known as protein skimming, also known as foam fractionalization or adsorptive foam separation. Protein skimming is a process wherein air bubbles are introduced into a volume of water. organic molecular compounds, known as surfactants, such as proteins and other organic waste materials, are attracted to the water surface surrounding the air bubbles. As the surfactants collect in sufficient amounts, they form a xe2x80x9cskinxe2x80x9d around the air bubbles. The bubbles rise to the surface, carrying the surfactant compounds along. At the water""s surface, the bubbles gather into a foam which can be collected, removing the surfactant compounds from the water.
Protein skimmers are particularly widely used in saltwater aquaria. Numerous different kinds and configurations of protein skimmers are in existence. Most protein skimmers, however, feature a few basic components. Protein skimmers typically employ a reservoir, or xe2x80x9creaction chamberxe2x80x9d. Aquarium water is circulated from the aquarium, through the reaction chamber, and back to the aquarium. Typically, the volume of the reaction chamber is relatively small in relation to the aquarium. A means for circulating aquarium water into the reaction chamber and back to the aquarium, such as one or more water pumps, perhaps in conjunction with one or more siphon tubes, is provided. Another basic component of a protein skimmer is a source of air bubbles that are injected into the aquarium water within the reaction chamber. A typical source of the air bubbles is an air stone placed in the reaction chamber. Another common source for the air bubbles is an air venturi in a water supply line that delivers water into the reaction chamber. The venturi draws air into the water stream passing through the water supply line, delivering air bubbles along with the water into the reaction chamber.
The air bubbles, suspended in the aquarium water within the reaction chamber, accumulate waste products. As the waste-laden air bubbles build a head of foam at the water""s surface, a foam channel at the top of the reaction chamber channels the accumulating foam upward, and the foam overflows the foam channel into a collection cup from which the foam can be periodically removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,209, issued on Dec. 5, 2000 to J. Kim, discloses a protein skimmer that employs an injector for spraying water into a reaction chamber. The spraying action causes generation of air bubbles in the reaction chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,962, issued on Feb. 1, 1994 to C. Chen, illustrates a protein skimmer that uses an air inlet tube to draw air into a water pump""s impeller housing. Thus, air bubbles are injected into the stream of water pumped into the protein skimmer""s reaction chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,230, issued on Apr. 9, 1991 to P. Votava III et al., discloses a dual action aquarium filter that incorporates a protein skimmer, utilizing an air stone to generate air bubbles.
The effectiveness of a protein skimmer in removing waste materials from aquarium water is determined in large part by the quantity and size of the air bubbles, by the xe2x80x9ccontact timexe2x80x9d that the bubbles are held in suspension in the water, and by the rate of flow of the aquarium water through the protein skimmer. The arrangement of components of a protein skimmer, and in fact the arrangement of a protein skimmer in an aquarium system, may be highly varied to alter the variables of air bubble volume and size, contact time, and water flow rate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,028, issued on Oct. 16, 2001 to N. Marks et al., discloses a protein skimmer including a self-contained centrifugal pump for circulating water through the protein skimmer. Air is drawn into water on the supply side of the water pump, the pump thus injecting an air bubble laden stream of water into the protein skimmer""s reaction chamber. The protein skimmer, in part due to its self-contained design, can be mounted on an aquarium sidewall, drawing water directly from, and returning water directly to, the aquarium.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,295, issued on Aug. 20, 2002 to J. Kim, illustrates a protein skimmer operating within a sump. Aquarium water siphons from the aquarium to a sump. The protein skimmer is disposed within the sump, and aquarium water from the sump is pumped through the skimmer and discharged back into the sump. The treated water from the sump is then pumped back into the aquarium.
The installation and maintenance instructions for the D-Deltec AP series protein skimmers, known to be published on the Internet at least as of October 2003, for a commercially available product, illustrates a protein skimmer that uses a needle wheel pump to inject air bubbles into a stream of water drawn from the reaction chamber of a protein skimmer, the water and air bubble mixture being returned to the reaction chamber. This arrangement, however, does not continuously recycle the air-bubble laden water within the reaction chamber. The needle wheel pump draws water from below the level of air bubbles within the reaction chamber. It is believed that the needle wheel pump, while effective in generating air bubbles, lacks the suction to draw the air-bubble laden water downward for re-circulation. Additionally, with the needle wheel pump drawing water from below the water return pipe, it would be undesirable for the level of air-bubble laden water to extend downward beyond the water return pipe since it is undesirable for the air-bubble laden water to be returned into the aquarium.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus an aquarium protein skimmer solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The aquarium protein skimmer of the present invention achieves enhanced performance by providing a re-circulating pump to re-circulate air-bubble laden water within the reaction chamber of the protein skimmer.
The re-circulating pump may be mounted either externally or internally to the protein skimmer""s reaction chamber. Air-bubble laden water is drawn from the reaction chamber into the re-circulating pump and re-introduced into the reaction chamber. The result is a re-circulating flow of the air-bubble laden water, causing the air bubbles to remain held in suspension in the reaction chamber for a longer period of time. Additionally, the turbulent re-circulation of the air bubbles through the re-circulating pump tends to cause the air bubbles to break down to a greater density of smaller air bubbles. Thus, an increased quantity of air bubbles, a smaller size of the air bubbles, and an increased contact time of the air bubbles within the reaction chamber enhance the protein skimmer""s performance.
Preferably, the aquarium protein skimmer utilizes a single water pump both to create a re-circulating flow of air-bubble laden water within the reaction chamber and to circulate aquarium water through the protein skimmer. The protein skimmer thus achieves the benefits of an increased quantity of air bubbles, a smaller size of the air bubbles, and an increased contact time of the air bubbles within the reaction chamber without the need for an additional water pump.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an aquarium protein skimmer with a re-circulating pump to re-circulate air-bubble laden water within the skimmer""s reaction chamber.
It is another object of the invention to provide an aquarium protein skimmer with a re-circulating pump to increase the quantity of air bubbles within the skimmer""s reaction chamber.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an aquarium protein skimmer with a re-circulating pump to decrease the size of air bubbles within the skimmer""s reaction chamber.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an aquarium protein skimmer with a re-circulating pump to increase the contact time of air bubbles within the skimmer""s reaction chamber.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an aquarium protein skimmer with a re-circulating pump to increase the capacity of the aquarium protein skimmer to remove waste from aquarium water.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.